Time mag: Florida is a national battleground for marijuana

At a time when states are legalizing pot for recreational purposes, it might not seem that significant whether Florida joins the growing list of about two dozen states that allow medical marijuana, writes Katy Steinmetz of Time magazine.

But Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the pro-marijuana reform group NORML, tells Time that nothing marijuana-related is taken lightly when it comes to political bellwether states like this one.

So far, polling on support for Amendment 2 has been all over the place. And the political frenzy over the initiative has drawn huge spenders like casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.

“Florida is a national battleground,” St. Pierre said, noting how uncommon it is for people to be dropping $2.5 million checks to oppose such measures or $3.7 million checks to support them.